CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A year and a half after Charles Byers was shot and killed by Chesterfield Police while he was in a mental health crisis and holding a hatchet, a settlement has been reached between the Byers family and the parties involved with his treatment at a psychiatric facility prior to the shooting. Meanwhile, a judge has allowed other claims against the Chesterfield Police officer who shot Byers to proceed.
“It’s just a big empty space, and so that's hard," Charles Byers' mother Peggy Byers said about the grief she still feels. "It's not just the fact that Charlie died, but it was the way he died that makes it even more painful, especially as his parents. We carry that in our hearts all the time. He just deserved better.”
Settlement agreement reached
As CBS 6 has previously reported, Peggy brought her son to HCA's Chippenham Hospital on July 5, 2023, as he was suffering from schizoaffective order.
While Byers was at the hospital, he was observed wandering around and confused. A mental health professional evaluated him and recommended he be placed under a temporary detention order (TDO), which was issued by a Richmond magistrate in the early hours of July 6. A TDO is an order from the court that requires an individual to receive mental health treatment in a psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours.
Later that afternoon, Byers was admitted to Chippenham's psychiatric unit Tucker Pavilion. According to health investigators, his behavior was noted as agitated, uncooperative, and he was responding to internal stimuli.
Records showed hospital staff wanted to transport him to a different floor where there'd be more a more secure environment; however, Byers did not cooperate with requests to get on an elevator. That's when hospital staff called an onsite Richmond Police officer to assist with getting Byers onto an elevator.
According to body camera video recorded inside the hospital, a nurse told the police officer to "take him" about 20 minutes after the officer arrived.
The police officer ultimately arrested Byers for kicking a nurse, removed him from the facility, and took him to jail.
State health investigators found that during that interaction outside the elevator, medical staff never communicated Byers' TDO status or his "dire mental health treatment needs" to police. An inspection report faulted the facility for failing to protect Byers' patient rights and failing to provide a safe environment. During his time at the hospital, the investigation found he was never seen by a psychiatrist.
In late 2023, the family filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against HCA and the City of Richmond, alleging Byers should not have been removed from the hospital, given his TDO.
This week, a settlement agreement was reached for an undisclosed amount.
“I feel like we did reach a just settlement, and we're happy to have that part of the case behind us," Byers' father Michael Byers said. "We appreciate the work of the City of Richmond and their legal staff and the legal staff for HCA."
Defense attorneys also expressed satisfaction with how their involvement in the case was resolved.
"Chippenham Hospital is pleased to have reached a thoughtful and appropriate resolution in collaboration with the Byers family. This outcome reflects the cooperative efforts of the parties, including the Richmond Police Department, and their respective counsel," said John Owen, an attorney for HCA. "At Chippenham Hospital, we are committed to providing the highest standard of care to the Greater Richmond community. This commitment included Charles Byers, who was a patient at our facility before his arrest and the subsequent events that occurred in Chesterfield County on July 8, 2023. Immediately following Mr. Byers’ arrest on July 6, 2023, we notified Richmond Behavioral Health that Mr. Byers—who was under a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) at RBH’s recommendation—had been taken into custody and was removed from our facility."
“Officer Gibson is pleased that this matter has been resolved and hopes this settlement brings some closure to Mr. and Mrs. Byers in the wake of the loss of their son Charles," said Mark Nanavati, the attorney for the Richmond Police officer who arrested Byers.
WATCH: Video reveals what happened to Charles Byers in mental hospital before he was killed by police
Changes made to prevent future tragedies
More than any dollar figure, the Byers said they're most thankful that both the city and HCA committed to making changes because of what happened to their son.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards directed a new policy requiring all officers to confirm whether any person they encounter at medical facility who is accused of a crime is subject to a TDO, emergency custody order, or any hospital committal order before executing an arrest.
Additionally, HCA acknowledged "learning from this event" and implemented new policies "to ensure vital patient information, including TDO status, is effectively and directly shared with law enforcement and any parties assuming custody of former patients."
The Byers called the changes life-saving and wished they could've been in place sooner.
“I feel like this is something Charlie would be 100% for, is making sure that the people who are most vulnerable are being taken care of in the way they need to be taken care of," Peggy Byers said. "It could have, had it happened in July of 2023, it would have saved Charlie's life because he never would have been in the position that he was put in.”
The Byers hope to see the changes made internally within Richmond Police and Chippenham Hospital implemented across the state.
They said they're communicating with state Delegate Debra Gardner, who represents Chesterfield, to advocate for legislation that would strengthen communication between law enforcement, medical facilities, and court systems. They're also pushing for a question to be added to magistrate bail checklists that would require magistrates to check for active TDOs and ECOs when determining whether to release a subject.
In this case, when Byers was taken to a Richmond magistrate on an assault charge following his removal from Chippenham, a magistrate released Byers back into the community despite his active TDO which required him to be in a hospital.
"I think it's important, considering the increasing number of people who are on the streets with mental illness, that that be something that is asked," Peggy Byers said. "Mike and I are working with Delegate Gardner and her legislative assistant in hoping that something can happen in the very near future."
Delegate Gardner previously told CBS 6 she was researching possible legislative opportunities to address those areas of concern but said a related bill would not be introduced in the current legislative session.
WATCH: Use of force experts raise concerns about police shooting of Charles Byers
Judge: 'No basis' for Chesterfield officer to feel threatened
Another half of the lawsuit is still proceeding.
The Byers are also suing Chesterfield Police and its officer Gordon Painter, who was one of two responding officers at the scene and the officer who shot Byers, for excessive force and negligence.
The Byers alleged Painter failed to de-escalate the situation and that Byers was not a threat at the time of the shooting because he was retreating from officers and was not advancing on them as Chesterfield Police initially claimed.
The Chesterfield Police Department has consistently stood behind the officer's actions, arguing that Byers was indeed threatening, did not comply with commands to drop the hatchet he was holding, and that officers were responding to a 911 call reporting he had attempted to break into peoples' homes.
Police have also maintained that the officers had a duty to protect other people in the neighborhood that may have been nearby, but Byers' attorney Paul Curley has argued that no people or moving cars can be seen on video in the direction that Byers was walking.
Chesterfield County Attorneys requested that federal Judge Roderick Young dismiss the claims against Officer Painter and grant him immunity.
This week, the judge denied Officer Painter qualified immunity on excessive force and certain degrees of negligence. Viewing the allegations in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the judge found that the Byers have presented adequate allegations.
In his opinion to support his decision, Judge Young cited body camera video depicting the "critical moment" that Painter shot Byers.
“At the time Officer Painter begins to shoot, Mr. Byers is backing away, with both arms relaxed at his sides, holding the hatchet in one hand. Mr. Byers makes no movement toward the officers, and the hand holding the hatchet does not so much as flinch," Judge Young wrote.
The judge continued, "Notably, Mr. Byers continued to act unthreateningly even after the first officer fired her taser at Mr. Byers and missed. In short, there was no basis for Officer Painter to believe that Mr. Byers was a threat to either officer.”
“I’m gratified that the judge saw, from watching the body camera footage, what actually happened," Peggy Byers said about Judge Young's opinion.
Asked for a response to the judge's opinion, a spokesperson for Chesterfield Police declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Court filings showed that county attorneys are appealing the judge's decision.
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